The present invention relates to a mine control device. More particularly the present invention relates to an arrangement wherein the detonation and safety device of an explosive mine can be programmed via an electronic unit which is disposed in the interior of the mine housing and which is controllable from outside the mine housing.
In order to increase tactical flexibility during the use of prior art mines of this type, it is necessary to preset their active or waiting time before they are laid. To increase the efficiency of a mine barrier established with such mines, it is further desirable to feed into the mine or mines, before they are laid, parameters regarding their response behavior upon the detection of a target or during mine sweeping measures. Such data are customarily transmitted to and fed in manually or without contact to each mine during the laying process or when they are activated.
German Patent No. 3,843,476 discloses a device for the inductive, non-contact programming of a mine by means of a programming device. In this device, a so-called programming finger composed of a magnetic core and a transmitting coil surrounding the core is inserted into a blind bore-like opening in a mine housing. Via a receiving coil, which surrounds the blind bore in the interior of the mine and which is connected with an electronic unit in the mine, it is possible to inductively couple the programming device to the mine itself so that energy and data can be transferred in this way from the programming device to the electronic detonation and safety unit provided in the mine.
Since, in the device according to German Patent No. 3,843,476, extraneous (interfering) magnetic fields are to be without influence on the receiving coil in the interior of the mine, the use of a programming device is absolutely necessary to program one or several mines. However, due to the high costs of such programming devices, they are not always available in any desired number at the location of use. Consequently, upon the malfunction of a programming device, possibly during a programming process that has not yet been completed, no further mine or mines can be programmed until a new operational programming device is available.